Education

Alerts

The Museum is Temporarily Closed to the Public

All Department of Cultural Affairs museums and historic sites, including this facility, are temporarily closed as a public health precaution due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus). These closures are part of the larger effort by state government to minimize public exposure. Please continue to visit this website for updates and to explore online resources and collections.

SMNHC is a facility in Cedar Crest, NM managed jointly by the museum and Albuquerque Public Schools. The staff have produced videos explaining what can be found in this mountain habitat. Some of these videos have been shown on APS @Home (see below).

Some of the same films you'd see in the DynaTheater are available to rent or own at home. Unfortunately, they can't be seen in 3D, but if you sit close to the screen, it's almost like an IMAX However, these home versions come with related activities and educational materials, so the fun doesn't have to stop when the movie ends!: https://macgillivrayfreeman.com/educational-resources

Hear the extraordinary story of human ingenuity and incredible engineering, describing how the technology that transports us through space is paving the way for the devices and apps we use every day. This link takes you to a flat-screen version of the show, but also incudes a grade K-12 education guide: https://www.skyskan.com/shows/Single_TSAB/TSAB_Single_MCC.html

Citizen Science

Become a citizen scientist by collecting and analyzing information that will help researchers around the world. Projects include studying the Earth's environment, looking for planets around stars, and finding comets, asteroids, and possibly additional dwarf planets in our solar system!: https://science.nasa.gov/citizenscience

Science Never Stops

Solar System Treks

Explore several planets and moons using the highest resolution images available. Create virtual reality environments, 3D images, files for 3D printing, and much more!: https://trek.nasa.gov
When the moon is out, use Moon Trek to study in incredible detail the lunar features you see through telescopes. On this site, it's possible to zoom in close enough to see the trails left by Apollo astronauts!: https://trek.nasa.gov/moon

Spot the Station

You can actually see the International Space Station when it moves through the sky above you. It is normally the brightest point of light, moving steadily across the sky in less than five minutes. It's not visible every night, so use this website to find out when the ISS will be passing over your location: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov

Tonight's Sky

The Tonight's Sky video is one of the segments seen in the museum's ViewSpace theater, but for now, we're bringing it home to you. Go outside after dark and see how many constellations you can find.

May's Sky:

What's Up

Get skywatching tips and learn more about a topic in space science. New videos are normally released within a couple of days at the beginning of each month.

While you can't pick up a monthly sky map outside the planetarium entrance, print your own copy from Skymaps.com. Be sure the notice the list of events happening each night, listed to the left of the map. Print the current month's map from here: http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html